Rubilee Pike Knight Obituary (1925

Rubilee Pike Knight, one of the four founding members of the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra died peacefully on June 27, 2015 at Summit Place in Beaufort, South Carolina, surrounded by her family and loved ones. Mrs. Knight was born in Columbia, South Carolina to Edwin W. Pike and Ruby Lee Johnson Pike on November 4, 1925. She was pre-deceased by her parents, her brother Edwin Pike and her sister, Mary Patterson. She is survived by her brother, Dr. James "Jimmy" Pike, her four daughters: Ann Knight Roth of Beaufort, S.C., Gail Knight Steinbeck of Santa Barbara, CA., Patti Knight Hilton of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Terry Lee Knight of Oakland, CA. Mrs. Knight was always extremely proud of her four son-in-laws, retired Dataw executive Richard "Dick" Roth, author Thomas "Thom" Steinbeck, restaurateur Mike Hilton, and retired insurance executive Ron Miculka. Other than her love of music, her greatest love was for her family and her six grandchildren, Johnny Irion, Allison Irion Benson, Logan Hilton, Meredith Irion, Lindsay Knight Marrapodi, Lauren Hilton, their families, but especially the eight great-grandchildren she was so fortunate to know and love, Kelsey, Shelbey, AnnaLee, Olivia, Sophia, Briley, Bradley, Garett and the most recent addition, Grayson. Mrs. Knight was active in the musical community throughout her youth and returned to that first love later in life, upon returning from Myrtle Beach to Beaufort. On March 22, 1947 she married the love of her life, Fredrick Palladino nee Knight, a World War II pilot and football hero, after meeting at Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C. where she was training for a career in nursing. Mrs. Knight graduated from Duke Nursing School in 1947 and worked in her chosen field at Beaufort Memorial Hospital and later as a public health nurse in Beaufort County. While working in public health Mrs. Knight did well-baby visits, checking on newborns in the back woods of the Sea Islands, a job she adored. She held a special fondness for the infants and mothers she met while working in Public Health with the midwives on the islands surrounding Beaufort. She was one of a handful of public health nurses honored at Penn Center by the state of South Carolina for her work in the midwifery community. The story of that part of her career lives on through interviews now stored in the archives of the State Museum of South Carolina. After the untimely death of her husband Fred Knight in 1983, Rubilee returned to Beaufort to be close to her brother, sister-in-law, sister and eldest daughter. She successfully rebuilt her life through her love of music when she started a quartet with Brantley Harvey, Jr., Janet Sawyer, and Jerry DeTreville. That little quartet became The Beaufort Symphony Orchestra. The family would like to thank Hospice Advantage of Ridgeland, SC and in particular Jessica Coburn, RN, Jackie Youmans, RN, and Sarah Bramon, Nurse Practitioner and all the staff at Summit Place and Morningside for their kind attention to our mother. Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at 11:00am in The Baptist Church of Beaufort, the family will receive friends after the service in the Green Room. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be sent to The Baptist Church of Beaufort, P. O. Box 879, Beaufort, SC 29901 or The Beaufort Youth Orchestra, Alzheimer's Family Services of Greater Beaufort, P. O. Box 1514, Beaufort, SC 29901 or St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Anderson Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the family.